Image 1
This image conveys a sad, lonely feeling. The image shows a girl, standing on a balcony, holding her head with her hand. The look on her face is blank. The girl seems deep in thought, or possibly thinking about the past. I imagine her as someone who just moved to the city, is lonely and misses her family. She stands by the balcony and looks down at the rushing city below, but is sad. The image gives a really lonely, melancholic feel. The photographer accomplished this by a variety of techniques. One way is by using very little lighting for the shot. There is a bit of light coming towards the girl from the street, but most of the girl is in the shadows. The artist furthermore decided to make the shot all black and white, which adds to the eerie sadness. The removal of any color adds to the desolate feeling. Everything in the photo is now dark colors, mostly black and grey, and the girl almost blends in to the bleak looking building in the background. When you see this image, you really get a feeling of loneliness.
Image 2
The second image is a typical portrait shot, with focus on the woman. This photo shows a woman and her baby standing somewhere in the open. The woman looks exhausted, and her baby is asleep. The theme that this photo really gives off is poverty and hardships. The woman is wearing some ratty looking clothes, with a pin in them to hold them together. The woman's facial expression is tired and weary. You can tell that things have been hard for them. I believe this picture was taken during the Great Depression. The woman looks like she has had a very hard time with poverty, and work hard to keep food on the table.
I really think the background helped make this picture what it is. The background is slightly out of focus, by the trees, and the ground is all dirt with some dead plants here and there. Looking at the background, you think to yourself, "Where is this? Why are they there". There is no house in sight. The background is completely empty. The sky plays an important part. It looks dreary and dark. The sky helps add to the forlorn nature of the photograph.
As far as technical process, not much is done. It is a simple portrait, turned black and white to help it look more dreary and sad. The photo itself works as it is because the portrait really puts emphasis on the woman and how tired she is. The background ties it all together, and the photo works very well.
Image 3
The third image is a deep focus shot of three men crossing a 5 lane street in a quiet area. Theres not many cars in sight. The image is in color and lit naturally, towards the camera. The place looks somewhat desolate. The interesting part of this image is the use of deep focus down the street. The photo uses lines to draw you in to the focus at the end of the street. The street lights on the left go from one corner in, the sidewalks, road lines, and the skyline of the buildings all point to the ultimate focus point. The image has a smooth flow to it. As far as a story, I just get a feel of average life in America. The men are crossing the street, going about their business. Are they grabbing lunch? Are they going to work? Are the stealing a car? Only the photographer knows.
Image 4
Image 4 shows an older woman up close, smiling and looking to the right of her. The image gives off a fun, goofy look. I am reminded of a family reunion, or a gathering of old friends. If I had to give this image a story, I'd say this lady meets with her friends on sundays for tea and scrabble. They all joke and laugh, and talk about the old days.
The photographer took the portrait pretty normally. The picture is pretty close up and in focus. The photographer made the shot black and white. This makes the picture blend really well, with the gray background and all gray colors. The lighting seems to be just head on.
Image 5
The fifth image is the most interesting. It shows a man laying on a bed, shirtless with his hands on his stomach. Another man, dressed in all black, stands over him with an unforgiving, emotionless look on his face. This photo gives me a clear story when I look at it. My interpretation is that the man laying down is dying, slowly, from a disease. The man standing above, I see as an embodiment of Death. He is dressed in all black, a color that symbolizes death. He appears to be waiting, he looks impatient. I see him waiting for the man to die, waiting to take his soul away. I believe we learned that this is the same man, and the photo is about AIDS.
This photo is executed very well. The image is mostly dark, only the wall is really lit. The two men are both dark. The dark theme puts an emphasis on death in the image. You can tell the two men are connected by how dark they are. I think this image uses unity. This photo's death theme is really complimented by the black and white. The photo contrasts well, and again all the figures are darker to represent death.
Photographer: Duane Michals
This image conveys a sad, lonely feeling. The image shows a girl, standing on a balcony, holding her head with her hand. The look on her face is blank. The girl seems deep in thought, or possibly thinking about the past. I imagine her as someone who just moved to the city, is lonely and misses her family. She stands by the balcony and looks down at the rushing city below, but is sad. The image gives a really lonely, melancholic feel. The photographer accomplished this by a variety of techniques. One way is by using very little lighting for the shot. There is a bit of light coming towards the girl from the street, but most of the girl is in the shadows. The artist furthermore decided to make the shot all black and white, which adds to the eerie sadness. The removal of any color adds to the desolate feeling. Everything in the photo is now dark colors, mostly black and grey, and the girl almost blends in to the bleak looking building in the background. When you see this image, you really get a feeling of loneliness.
Image 2
The second image is a typical portrait shot, with focus on the woman. This photo shows a woman and her baby standing somewhere in the open. The woman looks exhausted, and her baby is asleep. The theme that this photo really gives off is poverty and hardships. The woman is wearing some ratty looking clothes, with a pin in them to hold them together. The woman's facial expression is tired and weary. You can tell that things have been hard for them. I believe this picture was taken during the Great Depression. The woman looks like she has had a very hard time with poverty, and work hard to keep food on the table.
I really think the background helped make this picture what it is. The background is slightly out of focus, by the trees, and the ground is all dirt with some dead plants here and there. Looking at the background, you think to yourself, "Where is this? Why are they there". There is no house in sight. The background is completely empty. The sky plays an important part. It looks dreary and dark. The sky helps add to the forlorn nature of the photograph.
As far as technical process, not much is done. It is a simple portrait, turned black and white to help it look more dreary and sad. The photo itself works as it is because the portrait really puts emphasis on the woman and how tired she is. The background ties it all together, and the photo works very well.
Image 3
The third image is a deep focus shot of three men crossing a 5 lane street in a quiet area. Theres not many cars in sight. The image is in color and lit naturally, towards the camera. The place looks somewhat desolate. The interesting part of this image is the use of deep focus down the street. The photo uses lines to draw you in to the focus at the end of the street. The street lights on the left go from one corner in, the sidewalks, road lines, and the skyline of the buildings all point to the ultimate focus point. The image has a smooth flow to it. As far as a story, I just get a feel of average life in America. The men are crossing the street, going about their business. Are they grabbing lunch? Are they going to work? Are the stealing a car? Only the photographer knows.
Image 4
Image 4 shows an older woman up close, smiling and looking to the right of her. The image gives off a fun, goofy look. I am reminded of a family reunion, or a gathering of old friends. If I had to give this image a story, I'd say this lady meets with her friends on sundays for tea and scrabble. They all joke and laugh, and talk about the old days.
The photographer took the portrait pretty normally. The picture is pretty close up and in focus. The photographer made the shot black and white. This makes the picture blend really well, with the gray background and all gray colors. The lighting seems to be just head on.
Image 5
The fifth image is the most interesting. It shows a man laying on a bed, shirtless with his hands on his stomach. Another man, dressed in all black, stands over him with an unforgiving, emotionless look on his face. This photo gives me a clear story when I look at it. My interpretation is that the man laying down is dying, slowly, from a disease. The man standing above, I see as an embodiment of Death. He is dressed in all black, a color that symbolizes death. He appears to be waiting, he looks impatient. I see him waiting for the man to die, waiting to take his soul away. I believe we learned that this is the same man, and the photo is about AIDS.
This photo is executed very well. The image is mostly dark, only the wall is really lit. The two men are both dark. The dark theme puts an emphasis on death in the image. You can tell the two men are connected by how dark they are. I think this image uses unity. This photo's death theme is really complimented by the black and white. The photo contrasts well, and again all the figures are darker to represent death.
Photographer: Duane Michals